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Today on Coffee and Markets Francis Cianfrocca and I discuss the decay of the movie business, the challenges of running a hedge fund, and the banal business practices of Goldman Sachs.

We’re brought to you as always by Stephen Clouse and Associates. You can find our iTunes feed at CoffeeandMarkets.com. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

WSJ: Theater Chains Aim to Transform Moviegoing
The Banality of Goldman’s Business Standards – CNBC
Clarium Hedge Fund Slumps 90% From Peak After Thiel Has Third Losing Year – Bloomberg
AEI – Liftoff or Cold Shower?
The Numbers – Movie Market Summary 1995 to 2010

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“We’ve been living with terrorism for years,” Noa Tishby says. “We know the mentality. We know what radical Islam is about. We understand it. But so many people don’t.”

It’s easy for young, beautiful actresses in a town of young, beautiful people to blend into a crowd—but Tishby stands out as a proud Israeli woman, speaking with a passionate intelligence about the country she loves.

“I’m coming at this from a different world, a different view—not from politics, but from a straightforward understanding about the way things are,” Tishby says.

Even as a young teenager in Israel, Tishby adored the process of creation. A star at a young age for her singing voice and her acting talent, Tishby was always interested in the production side of creating and telling stories, not just what happened on the stage.

“I still remember calling up the local press people and saying ‘hi, this is Noa, you don’t know me, but I want to talk to you about our show,’” she says. “It’s different in the entertainment industry here in the States, but in some ways, it’s still the same.”

Tishby has become a groundbreaking exporter, adapting successful entertainment from Israel to the U.S. market. Besides her acting roles on television and the bigscreen, she’s a co-executive producer of the first Israeli television show to become an American TV series: the award-winning drama In Treatment, starring Gabriel Byrne and populated with a host of superb character actors (it began as BeTipul in Israel). Her production company, Noa’s Arc, owns the rights to several shows in Israel and the United States, and is focused on projects that feed into that export spirit—including one of the first musicals she was in as a child, on the life of King David (a hit in Israel, it ran for twelve years).

Yet what sets Tishby apart is not just her unique career track, but her straightforward and outspoken views on international politics and the Middle East—views that she shares via her columns for The Huffington Post and on her blog.

In the current celebrity culture, Tishby knows this openness about her views can come as a surprise to people.

“I’m not an expert,” Tishby says, “I’m just saying what I think and what I know from experience, what I grew up with and hope others will understand.”

Tishby says that while many of her friends consider themselves knowledgeable about the world they live in – “they really are educated people,” she adds – but have little knowledge of the truth about Israel and the reality of life in the Middle East. She tells the story of another young woman in the industry who was surprised she didn’t have to wear a head-covering.

“There’s just a complete lack of knowledge there,” Tishby says. “Before I came to the states, I thought ‘of course the world knows how modern we are here, why wouldn’t they?’ I assumed it was obvious… Instead, I found a disappointing number of people think of it as all one big mush. Afghanistan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, as if it’s all the same… It’s a lack of understanding about how progressive Israel is, and how much human suffering and cruelty there is under the systems of nations whose views some people reflexively support.”

Tishby is a progressive, avowedly so—but her frustration with the media’s acceptance of spoon-fed storylines has led her to be more outspoken about her views.

“Again and again, we see this double standard. Davutoglu calls the flotilla their 9/11,” Tishby said. “But how many Kurds did the Turk kill in the last few years?”

On a recent trip to Gaza, Tishby was surprised to find that one group of friends who share her views had no knowledge of Gilad Shalit.

“He’s been rotting with Hamas for four years, he’s held in complete confinement, he’s kidnapped, not even a prisoner of war, with no visitors from the United Nations and no contact from the outside world,” said Tishby. “And yet people want to talk to me about the Geneva Conventions?”

Tishby’s frustrations regarding the coverage of the flotilla incident are still palpable—she thinks it exemplifies how Israel works and how the enemies of Israel are thinking and adapting to the new media environment.

“Not all the people on the flotilla knew how they were going to be used, but the leadership certainly did,” said Tishby. “Those images and videos were pushed online almost immediately, used to define the incident.”

She strongly believes there needs to be a more sophisticated response not just from Israel but among her supporters to push back against these storylines and keep people informed of the truth.

“Within Israel, I think people don’t see how skewed the view is outside. Israel is being looked at with a magnifying glass. When Israel responds, it’s very deliberate, but that also slows things down,” Tishby said. “We need to create a nexus of information. Distributing that information real-time, will take a great deal of work—I think something along those lines needs to exists, and needs to be something that’s accessible around the world, moving at the speed people need today.”

Tishby favors a two state solution, and feels the progress in Ramallah is real. She points to Vice President Joe Biden’s recent appearance on Charlie Rose, where he said the current conflict “would end tomorrow if Hamas agreed to form a government with the Palestinian Authority on the conditions the international community has set up.”

“He’s a centrist, and I think he understands this,” said Tishby. “And he couldn’t be more right. I wish more people understood what is obvious to Israelis—that the sponsorship of Hamas and Hezbollah is connected intrinsically with the sponsorship of Al Qaeda, the bombings in Bali, Madrid, London, Tel Aviv—they never make the connection.”

Others have urged Tishby to consider taking up her own political career, but she says that’s not in the offing—for now.

“Being in the entertainment industry, being an actress and producer, altering people’s views—not just on politics, or Israel—is something that moves me,” said Tishby. “I’m taking this road for now, and later on, who knows?”

Tishby does think that there are still ways to tell this story to the American people. She is working on projects that can tell this story in innovative ways, bringing the truth about her experience and the experiences of other Israelis into American lives not through the news headlines but through the storytelling of Hollywood.

Her aim is not necessarily to convince the viewer of Israel’s rightness—“ I do not support the Israeli government all the time, I think we should do whatever it takes to have a peace agreement , stop the settlements immediately and make tough decisions. Of course no nation is right about everything,” but she wants to cause many people to reexamine the way they think about Israel, to learn more and decide for themselves.

“Israel is on the front line of a global conflict, a war that pits a medieval approach to human rights, an authoritarian way of controlling how we live, against societies built on the freedom of men and women,” Tishby says. “My issue is not with people who decide to support or not support Israel—it’s with people who are aligning themselves with people who, if the political left really looked at what they are doing, stand for nothing in common with their aims. All I am trying to do is to get people to reexamine the reality of what’s happening, to reconsider their preconceptions, and to see the truth—it’s not always black and white.”

Follow Ben Domenech on Twitter.

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The FilmSchoolRejects guys break down the pros and cons of Mad Men’s Jon Hamm as Superman on the big screen. Should be an easy decision: Cole points out, Jon Hamm already is Superman, what with the whole shooting laser beams out of his eyes thing.

I’m not a Superman fan — I grew up on Batman, Wolverine, and Hellboy — but I think it’s important to have good movies about him, lest the icon slip into dry Captain America territory where he’s only used by the B-grade writers to make clumsy political points. After the disaster of Superman Returns (my little sister was excited to see it, but as we walked out, said “that was a really long movie and nothing happened”, which is really the only review you need) I’m strongly in favor of Superman being an adult again, taking a more serious tone. Hamm certainly fits that bill; if you’re making the Dark Knight equivalent for this character, the dark, brooding approach fits.

The challenge with filming Superman in a cynical age is that we’re no longer impressed by what was once amazing. A man who lifts things and flies around for two hours? Everybody does that. While Hamm is a serious actor who might find it difficult to transition to the realm of fitted bodysuits and red undies (for the ladies), he could prove to be a much better Kent than Kal El, adding a depth to the experience of a man living out of his own world, lonely and unknowable.

The best image I’ve ever seen of Superman is the one at the top of this post, by Alex Ross — slumped in the chair, half impossibly powerful otherworldly being, half tired, lonely, bespectacled journalist. Hamm was made to make this scene.

Follow Ben Domenech on Twitter.

Scarlett Johansson is surprised that Barack Obama responds to her emails. As the Politico reports:

Johansson is somewhat shocked that he keeps up their back-and-forth correspondence. “You’d imagine that someone like the senator who is constantly traveling and constantly ‘on’–how can he return these personal e-mails?” she asks.

The Weekly Standard’s Vic Matus suggests there must be many other things that shock Scarlett Johansson, and offers a list. A few friends offer their own suggestions:

- She never has a problem finding poolboys to help with the tanning oil. “Everyone’s just so kind about that, even if they can’t speak English they understand!”
- She’s always had more male friends than female friends. “Guys just get along with me better – I think I must be a tomboy!”
- People always ask her to be a maid for Halloween. “Do I give off a maid vibe?”
- You have to have a private photo shoot every time you want to renew your driver’s license. “They never use all the shots!”
- Airport Security’s new nude inspection regulation. “But I suppose it’s all for our safety!”
- Charlie Sheen is a bikini inspector. “And he’s, like, ALWAYS working!!”
- Woody Allen insists on bringing her along with him, even if they’re not on set. “He bought me an ice cream cone the other day, and he insisted on staying while I ate it. Woody’s so nice!”
- Bill Clinton asked Barack Obama for her e-mail address. “Can you imagine? A president – interested in ME!”

The interesting thing about tonight, in my opinion, is that nearly everyone who’s won so far has actually deserved it. That’s rare indeed.

Bardem and the Coen Brothers deserved both wins (and No Country will probably take Best Picture barring an upset). The Cotillard over Christie upset was unforeseen and really quite nice, especially because La Vie En Rose needed something like this to get wider distribution (I haven’t seen Away From Her – though I’ve read what it’s based on – yet while Christie’s a fine actress, she just doesn’t deserve two Oscars). Tilda Swinton absolutely deserved the supporting actress nod (she was the best part of the otherwise forgettable Michael Clayton) despite Christopher Orr’s dismissal over at TNR. And of course you already know what I think of Juno.

As a final note: despite being a movie lover, I just have to concede that this show doesn’t deserve to go on. It’s just become unwatchable at this point – I think the moment it died was the Hattie McDaniel Clooney speech – but it’s just an interminable fetish play much about how Hollywood wants to be viewed, as opposed to what it is. The jokes are tired, the setups are ridiculous, and the only way to watch it without politics is with the mute button. You could make Heidi Klum the host and stage it as a battle royale in a cage between old Hollywood and new and I’d still flip back and forth between it and NFL Network’s combine coverage.

Oh: and Harrison Ford is really old.

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For my own part, my viewed films in 2007: Michael Clayton‘s a fine but ultimately forgettable film, loved Juno, liked There Will Be Blood, but No Country For Old Men absolutely deserves the Best Picture nod this year. Elizabeth: The Golden Age was a total trainwreck but with pretty costumes. Transformers was wicked awesome. 300 was overplayed but good. Live Free or Die Hard was surprisingly retro fun. Spider-Man 3 was meh. Ratatouille was another beautifully crafted Brad Bird work. Hot Fuzz was hilarious. In the Shadow of the Moon was touching. Eastern Promises was brilliantly old school. There have been way too many stupid boring films about Zodiac. Knocked Up was sweet. Amy Adams was cute in Enchanted. Superbad was McLovin. La Vie En Rose was gorgeous. Beowulf was about Beowulf the way that God of War is about Greek mythology, but it was still a great old Argonauts ripoff. The Simpsons Movie was nice. Harry Potter was Harry Potter. In the Valley of Elah had some good performances, but was predictable and blah.  The Kingdom deserved more credit for what it aimed at.  Waitress was decent. Oceans 13 is no longer guilty nor a pleasure. The Hitcher was really just an excuse to watch Sophia Bush kick ass. The Darjeeling Limited was the first Wes Anderson movie I actively hated. The Bourne Ultimatum was just like the other two but less entertaining. American Gangster was quality. 3:10 to Yuma was a good western that would’ve been better if it realized it was Tombstone and not Unforgiven.

I didn’t get a chance to see Rescue Dawn, Grindhouse, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Nines, Sunshine, or The Brave One. Have to catch them later.

The less said about Atonement – a movie as pointless and overrated as the book it was based on – the better.